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NY police plan summer crackdown on texting drivers

New York officials say more state troopers in unmarked sport utility vehicles are on the road this summer looking for drivers who are texting instead of watching where they're going.

The summer campaign against texting while driving, now subject to stiffer penalties, includes state police in what authorities call "Concealed Identity Traffic Enforcement" vehicles. They're taller than average and intended to let officers see better into other cars to determine if somebody is texting.

The unmarked vehicles in various colors have hidden emergency lights.

More than 30,000 tickets were issued in the state for texting at the wheel last year, up 234 percent from 2011.

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